ESCONDIDO  The owner of the Escondido Country Club who is suing the city over his right to develop the property is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would allow him to build up to 430 homes at the site.

The measure — called the “Escondido Open Space and Community Revitalization Initiative” — includes provisions for open space, a community center, an Olympic-sized pool and trails. It would essentially undo an initiative backed by Country Club residents and approved by the City Council last year that declared the golf course permanent open space.

Developer Michael Schlesinger, whose Stuck in the Rough LLC bought the failing course in 2012, claims in his lawsuit that the open-space declaration was an illegal “taking” of his property.

Schlesinger said Tuesday his new initiative is a compromise that he believes will be supported by “99 percent” of the greater Escondido community. He said signature gatherers will be hitting city streets and storefronts this week with the goal of gathering enough autographs to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Escondido City Clerk Diane Halverson said to get the measure on the ballot, organizers would need to submit 5,969 valid signatures — representing 10 percent of the city’s registered voters — by early July.

Schlesinger said he expects to have no problem getting enough support. He said the community as a whole supports the plan, which he said will benefit the city in numerous ways.

Opponents said Schlesinger’s description of the initiative as a compromise doesn’t hold water.

“For this to be labeled a compromise, when the last plan was for 285 units, seems a bit of a stretch,” said Ken Lounsbery, an attorney working for a citizen’s group of homeowners who live near the country club. “If this passes, the truth is they would have the right to argue for the right to build more than 400 homes in a space that has been flanked by existing homes for 50 years.”

Schlesinger said he hopes the “vocal minority” of residents who live near the golf course will eventually support the plan.

At the crux of the dispute and the lawsuit is whether the golf course is open space, or residential land that can be developed.

The Escondido City Council adopted a resident-sponsored measure in August declaring the 110-acre course permanent open space, blocking Schlesinger’s plans to develop the property.

Even before the council took action Schlesinger had filed a lawsuit challenging the council’s action. It says the open-space measure is illegal, that city officials delayed meeting with Schlesinger about his housing proposal and that declaring the land open space requires the city to compensate him financially to the tunes of millions of dollars.

Schlesinger said Tuesday that, should his initiative make the ballot and pass, it would limit the city’s financial liability and provide other benefits, including a $1 million contribution for acquisition and preservation of open space elsewhere in the city.

Escondido City Attorney Jeff Epp said Tuesday he is “pretty optimistic about our position in the takings lawsuit.”